Oklahoma State wrestling: No. 11 Cowboys thump South Dakota State, 35-3

The No. 11-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team won nine of 10 matches, including five by bonus points, for a 35-3 dual victory against South Dakota State on Friday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Nick Piccininni, ranked No. 4 at 125, won by technical fall and No. 1 Boo Lewallen (149), Wyatt Sheets (157) and No. 8 Travis Wittlake (165) recorded major decisions and No. 11 Dakota Geer (197) won by injury default for OSU (9-2, 5-1 Big 12), which improved to 5-0 in the all-time series against SDSU (7-5, 4-2).

OSU redshirt freshman Anthony Montalvo picked up his second ranked win at 184 with a last-second takedown on the edge for a 3-1 victory against No. 14 Zach Carlson. The takedown was awarded after a lengthly official review.

SDSU heavyweight Blake Wolters prevented the shutout with a takedown in the first and third periods by using his weight advantage against the undersized Austin Harris for a 4-3 decision for the Jackrabbits, who have lost two of their past three conference duals.

Piccininni gave OSU a 5-0 lead with five takedowns and eight nearfall points off tilts for a 17-1 technical fall in 6:28 against No. 19 Danny Vega. Tied 2-2 after two periods, OSU freshman Reece Witcraft scored a reversal on a switch then caught Zach Price with a throw off a shot attempt for a four-point move with a minute remaining for a 9-4 win at 133 to make it 8-0 OSU.

Dusty Hone built the OSU lead to 11-0 when he escaped in the second then battled for about half a minute to finish a takedown before riding out the third for a 5-2 win with riding time against Clay Carlson.

In the marquee match of the dual at 149, No. 11 Henry Pohlmeyer dragged the newly minted top-ranked Lewallen to his back out of the starting position but was not awarded nearfall points after a failed SDSU coach’s challenged. Lewallen sat out four seconds out of the break then turned Pohlmeyer with two tilts for a 10-0 major decision to improve to give the Cowboys a 15-0 lead with his 15th victory of the season.

Sheets made it 19-0 at the intermission with three takedowns, including two in the third, paired a penalty point for stalling and 3:15 of riding time for a 11-3 major decision against Peyton Smith.

At 165, Wittlake racked up five takedowns and riding time for a 14-6 major decision against Tanner Cook. Eleventh-ranked Joe Smith had a takedown and an escape in each of the first two periods then a late takedown in the third for a 9-3 win with riding time against Kelby Hawkins for a 26-0 OSU lead.

Geer grabbed OSU’s third ranked win of the dual when No. 15 Tanner Sloan injured his left knee defending a shot attempt against the Cowboy with 51 seconds remaining in the first. After Sloan was attended to by medical staff, Geer selected the bottom position and escaped for a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period then Sloan said he could no longer continue.

What’s next

The Cowboys wrestle their second dual of the weekend when they host former Big 12 foe No. 24 Missouri (10-5, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) at 2 p.m. Sunday.

No. 11 Oklahoma State 35, South Dakota State 3

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) TF No. 19 Danny Vega (SDSU), 17-1 in 6:28

133: Reece Witcraft (OSU) DEC Zach Price (SDSU), 9-4

141: Dusty Hone (OSU) DEC Clay Carlson (SDSU), 5-2

149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD No. 11 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 10-0

157: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) MD Peyton Smith (SDSU), 11-3

165: No. 8 Travis Wittlake (OSU) MD Tanner Cook (SDSU), 14-6

174: No. 11 Joe Smith (OSU) DEC. Kelby Hawkins (SDSU), 9-3

184: Anthony Montalvo (OSU) DEC. No. 14 Zach Carlson (SDSU), 3-1

197: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) INJ DEF. No. 15 Tanner Sloan (SDSU)

285: Blake Wolters (SDSU) DEC. Austin Harris (OSU), 4-3